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If you went bankrupt but had no or very little equity in your house would you still lose it

It is a good question SPS.

If your house has little or no equity it really is not worth the court's while to reposses it and sell it. In this instance you may be able buy back the ownership of your house for a nominal fee (could be as little as £1 upwards depending on the equity available) and legal costs (c£500).



Best Regards
Oliver

Thomas Charles and Co Ltd.
Experts in personal debt solutions.
Read customer feedback at: www.thomascharles.com/about_us.asp

Hi sps

The ruling regarding low equity in properties is now covered by formal insolvency legislation, which states that if the equity in the property is not sufficient to ensure any return to creditors (after the legal costs of possession proceedings have been taken into account) then a judge is unlikely to grant an order for possession. Generally a figure of £5,000 is used as a benchmark.

In bankruptcy, the Trustee must deal with his/her interest in your property within three years from the date of the Bankruptcy Order. A clever Trustee, may therefore wait until the final year to see whether the value of the property will increase and therefore make it worth the creditors' while then applying. To avoid this, as Oliver says, it makes absolute sense for a friend or family member (your spouse is perfect) to offer to acquire the Trustee's interest for a nominal sum. Given that you will generally be dealing with the Official Receiver, this is usually done as a matter of formality,

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.
View my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

Thanks for your answers I imagine you would have to surrender any assets such as endowment policies if you went bankrupt wouldn't you

Yes sps that is correct. Are you thinking of declaring yourself bankrupt, or are you enquired just general?

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.
View my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

Hi
Just trying to find out as much information as I can am only in the first stages of trying to sort things out, have got 2nd telephone appt with someone from Grant Thornton soon who the CCCS referred me to